Doug Parrow, new campus police chief at South Dakota Mines, is the first armed officer on campus.
South Dakota Mines has a new campus police chief who has experience working with law enforcement agencies in the Black Hills.
Doug Parrow will supervise the Campus Police and Campus Safety Departments. He has been a South Dakota certified law enforcement officer since 1992. According to his Linkedin account, he has worked as a deputy sheriff in Butte County and as a part-time police officer in Lead.
Parrow’s appointment was approved by the Rapid City Council in January 2020. The university worked with the city attorney and former Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris on a joint law enforcement agreement that allows South Dakota Mines to employ campus police officers. The new policy allows sworn and trained university law enforcement personnel to carry a weapon on campus.
Parrow has a two-year degree in law enforcement from Minnesota. Currently, he is the only member of public safety at the school who will carry a firearm. Safety officers who are not certified law enforcement officers will continue to operate on the Mines campus without firearms.
South Dakota Mines follows other universities in the state, including the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University, with the addition of campus police officers.
